For me, the last stanza is humbling. Maybe this is just me,
but you know when you’re looking at the stars and you’re like damn, I’m so
tiny. But at the same time, it is magical that you are there. In this
ridiculously vast universe, we get to experience life. The last stanza evokes
similar feelings as when I’m star gazing, it makes me feel so insignificantly
significant.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
In Memoriam #54
Tennyson’s In Memoriam #54 leaves me feeling very uncertain.
I’m not sure if he wants the audience to be uplifted or depressed. Regardless
of this, I really enjoy this poem and I can definitely relate to it. Some of my
favorite lines: “That nothing walks with aimless feet;/That not one life shall
be destroy’d, Or cast as rubbish to the void” (5-8). “And every winter change
to spring.” (16). These lines represent the main theme of the poem. That good
will always triumph over evil. That death is not wasteful, but fulfills a
greater purpose. Not to be cliché, but to totally be cliché, everything happens
for a reason. All good sentiments, the first four stanzas comfort me. They
remind me that, although we may not be able to understand it, there is a larger
plan that we cannot control. We, as humans, might be just a small piece of the
puzzle. There is a “God” that will ensure good will prevail and nothing will be
in vain. Getting real philosophical here.
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I saw the poem with a bit more pessimism, probably because I read the preface of these poems and it said that ALT started to get more doubtful and pessimistic towards 54, 55, and 56. Although I also caught more of that then of him being uplifting and optimistic due to words such as "God hath made the PILE complete," (line 8). I don't know why, but this word choice of pile gave me an uneasy feeling that made me read the previous lines over as being somewhat satirical or sarcastic. I feel like in the first stanza he is trying to say that we have too much trust in the world, and that everything will turn out good, but that in the end God is just completely a "pile" of the dead. I read the third stanza as how nature can actually be devastating, and that animals are always dying at the feet of another's gain (which I related to Darwin's view of natural selection). What confused me a bit whether to be happy or sad about the poem was when ALT says "good shall fall at last-- far off-- at last, to all," (lines 14-15) because i was unsure whether this was saying good will fall from heaven and come to everyone, or good will fall away from everyone. The "every winter change to spring" gives a positive attitude because it seems to be saying cold/evil will turn to warmth/good (line 16). The speaker speaks as if they wish for and hope good in the future world, but feels small, and unable to change anything due to being "an infant crying in the night, an infant crying for the light, and with no language but a cry," (lines 18-20).
ReplyDeleteI can definitely see where you are coming from, especially with the pile word choice. For some reason, when I first read the poem I pictured pile as more of a hierarchal structure, again connecting to Darwin. That these deaths are necessary in order for the species above it to prosper. To me, if there is some benefit to a creature's death then I do not think it is a waste instead it is just a part of the natural cycle of life. Your interpretation of lines 14 and 15 are super interesting. I can definitely see both choices fitting within the poem. Perhaps ALT wanted readers to choose between optimist and pessimist views.
ReplyDeleteI would agree with Mackenzie in saying this is more an optimistic poem. The lines I would point to are also the lines that Mackenzie pointed out, "And every winter change to spring" and "That nothing walks with aimless feet; that not one life shall be destroyed, or cast as rubbish to the void". Winter symbolizes a period of darkness and death, where as Spring symbolizes a time of hope and rebirth, so ALT saying that all Winters will turn to Spring, is him saying, that even though death and dark things occur, a time of hope will come. The other lines are basically saying, no one walks on this Earth without a purpose, no one will be cast down as a piece of trash. I feel like one of the main themes of this poem is that although dark things may occur, be hopeful, as all people on this Earth serve a purpose, and happier times are on the way.
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